Method of making axle-housing blanks



Nov. 27, 192s:- 7 1,693,044

v T. E. MURRAY JR METHOD OF MAKING AXLE HOUSING BLANKS Filed Feb. 1923 2 different users.

Patented Nov. 27, 1928.

lTED STATES THOMAS E. MURRAY, JR., OF BROOKLYN, NEWTYORK.

Application filed February 2, 1923.

In the production at axle housing as described in my previous application No. 517-; 056 filed November 22nd, 1921., sheet metal is blanked to a proper outline and is then bent or drawn to form segments which by welding at their edges form the desired housings.

I The present invention provides a blank or segments and a method of production for economically making such housings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a plan or" the sheet metal blank desired;

Figs. 2 and 3 illustra'te methods of producing such a blank Fig. 4 is a side elevation, on a reduced scale, of the completed axle housing;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the same on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan illustrating another method.

The housing has tubular end portions 1 with an intermediate enlar ed portion 2 which has inward flanges 3 ig. 5) outlining an enlarged transverse opening 4. The dimensions and proportions are varied considerably according to the requirements of The housing is made by placing two properly shaped segments edge to edge along the dotted line 5 (Fig. l) and welding them. The present invention has to do with the production of these segments and of the blanks from which they are bent up.

The outline of a blankfor producing the segment of Figs. 4 and 5'is shown in Fig. 1. It comprises an intermediateor body portion 6 with extensions or projections 7 of reduced width at the ends. the ends of the portion 6 being tapered along curves 8 to the width of the projections 7 and pointed pro jections 9 being provided at the sides of the body portion. Comparing Fig. 1- with Fig. 4, the body portion of the blank makes up the central part of the segment. The end projections 7 form the segments of the tubular ends 1 and the pointed projections 9 form the triangular which carry the joint 5 between the segments all the way to the transverse opening 4:.

The sheet metal blank of Fig. 1 may be stamped out directly from an integral strip 11. But this is productive of considerable wastage in scrap. In my former application above referred to I have described the making of the blank of-several parts, with the projections 7 or 9 butt welded onto the body porportions 10 of the segments- METHOD Q3? MAKING AKLE HOU-STNG BLANKS.

Serial No. 616,4Q7.

tion 6; the parts of the blank being first stamped out and then welded together. According to the present invention the blank is also composed of parts which are welded together; but they are welded together be fore the blanking operation. Also the present specific process ensures that the parts shall be in exact register, which was not easy to accomplish where they were first out out and then welded. This idea of first welding the parts and then stamping out the blank may be applied in a variety of ways.

For example, in Fig. 2, a builtup sheet is first produced by welding narrow pieces 12 onto the ends of a wider piece 13; the sheet thus produced being large enough to include the desired blank. The latter indicatedas a whole by the numeral 14, and shown in dottedlines, is then stamped out in one operation. The result is a blank built up of three parts, a central wider portion and two narrower end portions. The economy of metal compared with Fig. 1 is evident.

Such economy may be even carried through as shown in Fig. 3. In this case narrow end portions 12 are welded onto an intermediate portion 15 wide enoughto include the regular width of the central portion of the blank but not the width of the pointed extensions and additional. parts 16 are welded on the sides of the part 15 of a size to include said'triangular projections. The buildingup of the pointed projections may be practiced without the building up of separate endprojections, and various other ways may be resorted to for accomplishing the desired result.,'balancing the cost of the welding operations against the saving in metal and adapting the operation to the particular shape of the blank desired.

Another mode of applying the principle'is shown in Fig. 6. The central portion 6 of the finished blank, with the lateral projections 9 is-blanked out first to the correct size, in doing which one can effect a considerable economy of scrap by staggering the outlines. The ends 17 are left of a slightly" greater width than that ultimately desired, and end portions 12, similar to those of Fig. 3, are butt welded thereto and the final blank stamped out to the contour indicated in dotted lines.

. The present application is directed specifically to the fore blanking out the desired shape; the former a plication, above referred to, containing' cl aims broad enough to include this making of the composite sheet bemethod as well as the specifically distinct method described therein.

Though I have described with great particularity of detail certain embodiments of my invention yet it is not to be understood therefrom that the invention is restricted to the particular embodiments disclosed. Various modifications thereof in detail and in the arrangement of the parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from the invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is 1. The method of producing a fiatnonrectangular sheet metal blank for a segment of an axle housing of uniform thickness throughout its extent and comprising a' body portion with one or more lateral and end projections therefrom, said method including the building up of a sheet of rectangular contour by welding together edge to edge pieces of the same thickness, each piece being larger than the portion of the sheet which it forms, and cutting off the edge portions of said pieces to change the sheet to the desired contour. v

2. The method of producing a flat nonrectangular sheet metal blank for a segment of an axle housing of uniform thickness throughout its extent and comprising a comparatively wide body portion having curved sides and comparatively narrow rectangular end projections, said method including the building up of a sheet of rectangular contour by Welding together edge to edge a piece of the said thickness shaped to include the body portion of the blank and other pieces of the same thickness shaped to include the end projections therefrom and cutting off the edge portions.,of said pieces to changethe sheet to the said contour of the blank.

3. The method of producing a flat nonrectangular sheet metal blank for a segment of an axle housing of uniform thickness throughout its extent and comprising a central comparatively wide body portion 6 having at its sides pointed lateral projections 9 and at its ends comparatively narrow rectangular end projections 7, said method including the building up of a sheet of rectangular contour by welding together edge 'to edge separate pieces each of rectangular contour and of the same thickness, each piece being larger than the portion-of the sheet which it forms, and cutting ofl theedge portions of said pieces to change the sheet to thesaid contour of the blank. In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

THOMAS E. MURRAY, R.

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